Remember The Bower
by Wonder Squint
Summary: Slightly-AU Season 2, in which Mike and Max are married and she has some concerns regarding the staged death of Claire Matthews.


_Here is a small piece that I think will eventually happen, should Mike and Max get together in whatever capacity. I just felt compelled to bend the realm of canon to fit these fictitious circumstances. Also, contains some typical couple fluff and a lot more dialogue than my previous Maxton writings. Please read, review and enjoy._

_Title Prompt: An English folk song from the 1700s called "Early One Morning"_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

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**REMEMBER THE BOWER**

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_O' don't deceive me  
O' never leave me  
How could you use a poor maiden so?_

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When Max returned home that night and steadily made her way into the dimly lit bedroom, her face so ashen Mike's first thought was that something terrible had happened, "What happened? Who's hurt? Max, are you okay?" he inquires too quickly from his position on the bed.

She offered him a shaky smile in reply and found a seat beside his legs, her back towards him. Mike could see that her hands were trembling in her lap so he took them in his own and held her close.

"Ryan's a mess." She began, her eyes facing the window with her sight unfocussed, "I don't know what to do."

Noticing the dejected tone in her voice, Mike moved to sit by her, his arm around her waist, "It's not your responsibility to do something, Max." he tells her, the belief in his words as convincing as they need to be.

"But I'm his family. I need to be there for him." She sighed, the helplessness she felt evident in the strains of every breath she took.

Mike shrugged slightly, he had to be objective for her, "So be there. That's all the situation can ask of you." It was true – Ryan couldn't ask anything more of his niece than what she was able to give. And it broke Mike's heart to find that she was blaming herself for that which was hardly within her power.

She was silent for a moment, seemingly considering his words, "I can't even imagine how he must be feeling. Having believed the only person he ever loved was dead while she never was…" she trailed off before suddenly turning to look at him, "How could she do this to him?" her eyes shone with a pain deeper than she ought to feel; brow furrowed in an overwhelming sense of empathy.

And Mike's heart broke all over again to see that wounded flare in those sapphire depths, "She had to – to protect Joey." He reasoned, rubbing her back gently.

"I know," sighed Max, shrugging "Still…" she relented. Although she understood the necessity in what Claire had to do to protect her family, Max too would protect hers and if that meant siding with Ryan, she would.

He could do nothing but nod, "Yeah…" One could hardly fault her for the anger she felt towards Claire. In point of fact, even though she had been persuaded into witness protection, Mike wasn't particularly pleased with her decision to return – especially when Ryan was doing so well in regards to moving on emotionally. Certainly, there was a great deal more to consider than Claire's obligation and Mike realised he shared in Max's frustration.

While in further contemplation, Max had readied herself for bed; relieving her body of her clothes and the day's toil before settling down beneath the covers beside her husband.

"Would you ever leave me?" Max queried suddenly. The question was truly an inevitability.

The question for Mike however, wasn't entirely expected. "What? Don't be ridiculous." He said, shaking his head slightly at her silliness, his eyes returning to Lily Gray's case file in front of him. To Mike, it was more of an eventuality for Max to scold him about bringing work to bed than it was for her to ask such a question. And the fact that she had neither noticed nor complained about it was, in itself, rather strange and uncharacteristic.

Max turned on her side to face him, wanting to read everything he was feeling in his eyes - as they so often communicated far more than his words ever might, "I mean, if you had to – like Claire. Would you?"

He turned to meet her eyes then, finding a spark of apprehension etched on her face and he wasted no time in relieving her of its grasp, "No." his tone couldn't be more renitent; determined in its task to reassure her that her fears were void of sense.

"You wouldn't?"

"No, Max. I wouldn't." confirmed Mike, matter-of-factly. After all, how could he possibly manage such a feat should he even wish to try? Finding the ever elusive Ms Gray would be a far easier challenge to complete.

"Why not?" she persisted, her eyes ever curious; far from relenting.

Mike turned to relax himself into the same position as Max, as to face her directly. "Because i love you too much and not being able to see you every day… well…" his eyes fell to her hands and he takes one of them into his own, caressing her knuckles with a touch to rival the sincerity in the words to follow, "I just couldn't bear it."

And the selfsame sincerity echoes its way into her heart.

"So…" Max began again. For all his love could offer, the need for answers had yet to be quelled – it made her feel hopeless as well as helpless, "You're saying Claire didn't love Ryan enough?"

"No," it's simply put, but when his hand reaches up between them to cradle her face so gently and his eyes make the effort to burn into her own, she knows that he's about to tell her something - perhaps simple - but something she won't ever forget, "I'm saying no one loves anyone like I love you." And she was right.

Mike's love for Max had never been in dispute and when he would look at her in such a manner; and hold her in another, she'd smile because she knew.

"And if we had a kid – would yo-"

"That would be different, Max." he claims, shaking his head, unwilling to let her finish another sentence with a similar theme of doubt.

"How?"

A subtle sigh escaped his lips. His frustration was clear but he didn't want for Max to question him regarding a subject he was so sure of – he only hoped his reassurance and reasoning might somehow provide her with the very same, "Ryan isn't Joey's father. Claire wasn't taking Joey away from anyone." He started, "If we had a baby and our lives were threatened. How could I take him away from you; his mother? He'd need both of us, right?"

Though his claim was true, it certainly didn't mean the best interests of their child would be the only reason for his inability to abandon her.

Max nodded in agreement, of course he was right. "Good to know." She added.

"It is?" Mike inquired, his eyebrow inclined.

A playful glint form in her eyes, "Uhuh…"

He stared at her in shock, the surprise and hope growing gradually within the flow of his words, "What are y- are you pregnant?"

And there's a certain conspicuous glow to Max's face when she nods in confirmation.

"You are!" A smile grew wide on his face and his heart swelled with pride, "Oh Max." he breathed into the kiss that followed. Then Max smiles for the first time that night, the helplessness she felt having been forgotten in lieu of their joyous news.

Mike's hand came to settle on her belly, "A little baby boy, huh?"

"Or girl." countered she, her hand resting atop his.

He nods, his face impossibly brighter than it had been moments prior, "Yes, or a girl." He thinks it hardly matters, after all and his gaze falls down to her abdomen, envisioning just who the person their child would someday grow to be.

She took a moment to watch him and to remember the sheer adoration painted on the canvas of his features – it was something she could recall fondly in the future, "Hey Mike?"

"Yeah?"

"I'd never leave you either." She promises. And like the time she assured him the pain would subside following his father's death, Mike knows it's a promise she'll always keep.

Shortly after, Max fell asleep with her head on his chest. And while she slept, Mike spoke to his child for the first time and in more than one way, he found himself falling in love with Max all over again – such a love couldn't possibly find itself lost to abandonment.

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_Remember the vows  
Remember the bow'r  
Where you vowed to be true_

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_A lot of you asked me to write a sequel to "Consonance" and I suppose this might be considered one. Either way, thank you for reading despite the lack of eloquence and general quality._


End file.
